Jon Campbell reports for the Poughkeepsie Journal that Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro was cleared of county ethics violations Dec. 7. Molinaro was cleared in connection with his wife's former job with a local contractor and campaign donor. When he ran the Republican ran for governor against Andrew Cuomo, Democrats used the ethics investigation against him during the campaign. The Dutchess County Board of Ethics reported that Corinne Adams' job with Tinkleman Bros., a Dutchess-based architecture firm, from 2015 through early 2018 did not count as a gift. Adams made about $26,500 as Tinkleman's director of marketing and communications in 2017. "The County Executive's wife's salary was not a 'gift' within the meaning of the Dutchess County Code of Ethics inasmuch as she received fair market vallue for hourly part-time services rendered," the board's decision read. Read the full story in the Poughkeepsie Journal.